Bridge
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. TIM HO WAN, IFC - 13:15
Peter sits at a small table. He sips his tea, pulls out his phone and scrolls Linkedin. A post catches his eye.
PETER (V.O.): It's from Anthony.
He reads and then his face freezes.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, Robin has passed away.
He checks the date of posting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's a week old.
Act 2
FLASHBACK
INT. LECTURE ROOM, HKU - DAY (1985)
PCLL class. Peter (31) listens intently. ROBIN (42), a guest speaker with a booming voice, lectures.
ROBIN:...I had a personal case on restraint of trade that went all the way to the Privy Council. I lost.
Pausing.
ROBIN (Cont'd): It was utter folly. But I got my name in the law reports.
PETER (V.O.): He's different.
INT. GOVT OFFICES - NIGHT (1989)
HK Law Reform Commission Copyright SUB-COMMITTEE meeting. Peter (35) sits next to the chair, NAZARETH J, takes minutes when MEMBERS speak.
PETER (V.O.): Robin doesn't talk in abstractions. He's very practical.
INT. DEN RYAN'S, ADMIRALTY - NIGHT (1991)
Robin and Peter share a steak dinner.
ROBIN: You want to know why I got into IP? I arrived Hong Kong in 1967. Riot season. But there was a tray full of trademark cases. I thought, "Right. This is my turf".
Pausing.
ROBIN: Peter, you're in the secretariat to reform the copyright law to protect the authors. But who collects the money?
Pausing.
ROBIN (Cont'd): You should start a copyright collecting society for the printing sector. Run it yourself.
FLASHBACK UPON FLASHBACK
INT. GOVT OFFICES - NIGHT (1990)
A Subcommittee meeting ends. MEMBERS leaves. Peter (36) chats with YIU, a member representing the printing sector.
PETER: What do you think about Robin's suggestion...
YIU: My sector once had a coffee session with him in his office to pick his brain on our way forward. And then we got a $30,000 bill.
END FLASHBACK UPON FLASHBACK
ROBIN (Cont'd): Don't tell me that you take civil service as your career...
PETER: I'm now a Senior Crown Counsel because I got a HK Govt scholarship to read my LLB and PCLL at HKU, and a UK Govt scholarship to read my LLM at UCL.
Pausing.
PETER: I've an eight-year performance bond with the HK Govt... and I take that restraint of trade as reasonable in the circumstances.
Robin laughs out loud.
INT. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL CHAMBERS - DAY ( Spring, 1997)
Peter (42) explains the Copyrigbt Bill to LEGISLATORS. He spots Robin sitting in the public gallery.
PETER (V.O.): Robin must have a lucrative watching brief for a major client.
INT. ROBIN'S FAREWELL PARTY - DAY (1998)
Grand. Peter is among the privileged GUESTS.
PETER (V.O.): I believe Robin retires at the age of 55. He has already won.
RETURN TO THE PRESENT
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Robin knew my work. When I asked him to act as one of my two referees for a possibe career move. He didn't hesitate.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I was promoted, I got his congratulations card from afar, without the sender's address.
Peter finishes his tea.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Was Robin charismatic? No, he's one of a kind. Something that didn't need a name.
Act 3
INT. BEDROOM - 23:00
Peter uploads an image to a draft on his laptop. It shows an illuminated suspension bridge in Hong Kong at night.
PETER (V.O.): Robin died at the age of 83. I found out on Linkedin, over tea. That's how legacies end now - not with a bang, but with a scroll.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Robin's name is in the jurisprudence because he was willing to be a fool. That's the secret: folly, if it's bold enough, becomes precedent.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The best bridge is the one I don't notice until it's gone. Robin was like that.
The END
FADE OUT
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